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Earthwatch Institute Inc at a glanceMostly funded, not a grantmaker: see who funds it →

· Public charity

Earthwatch Institute Inc

Earthwatch institute connects people with scientists worldwide to conduct environmental field research and empowers them with the knowledge they need to conserve the planet.

$955k
Granted FY2025still arriving
10
Grants FY2025still arriving
6
States reached
$86k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.

Environment$2.0MEducation$1.6MScience & Tech$1.2MAnimals$411kArts & Culture$214kHealth$114k
02FY2025 · 10 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 10 grants below total $368,685, the rows itemized in this filing. The $954,684 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $585,999 is giving the schedule does not break out (grants under the $5,000 itemization floor, grants to individuals, grants on other schedules). Every figure below describes the itemized rows only.

By grant size · FY2025

  • $10k–50k7 grants · $162k
  • $50k–250k3 grants · $207k
$27,756
Median grant
6
States reached
$3.7M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
HAWKWATCH INTERNATIONAL INC$85,635
MOTE MARINE LABORATORY$69,967
SCHOODIC INST AT ACADIA NATIONAL PARK$51,110
WILDLIFE CONSERVATION SOCIETY$41,692
SOUTH YUBA RIVER CITIZENS LEAGUE$27,756
THE LIVING DESERT$27,744
OSA CONSERVATION$24,420
SAM HOUSTON STATE UNIVERSITY$17,277
PURDUE UNIVERSITY$12,124
EASTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY$10,960
02The need
03

Does the money reach high-need areas?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, against the area’s typical level.

show:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY17–25) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 12%. 43% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants spread fairly evenly across need levels.

area typical 12%NORTHERN ARIZONA UNIVERSITY: $76k → 16%HAWKWATCH INTERNATIONAL INC: $86k → 9%SOUTH YUBA RIVER CITIZENS LEAGUE: $54k → 11%THE LIVING DESERT: $47k → 11%WESTERN UNIVERSITY OF HEALTH SCIENCE: $50k → 14%WILDLIFE CONSERVATION SOCIETY: $74k → 28%MOTE MARINE LABORATORY: $175k → 9%HAWKWATCH INTERNATIONAL INC: $114k → 8%SOUTHERN UTAH UNIVERSITY: $61k → 13%DENVER ZOOLOGICAL FOUNDATION: $78k → 12%CROW CANYON ARCHAEOLOGICAL CTR: $72k → 15%PURDUE UNIVERSITY: $59k → 12%SOLASTER SCIENCE LLC: $63k → 8%EASTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY: $107k → 16%SCHOODIC INST AT ACADIA NATIONAL PARK: $131k → 11%NORTHERN ARIZONA UNIVERSITY: $71k → 16%SWAN VALLEY CONNECTIONS: $48k → 9%THE LIVING DESERT: $44k → 11%WILDLIFE CONSERVATION SOCIETY: $64k → 28%MOTE MARINE LABORATORY: $58k → 9%HAWKWATCH INTERNATIONAL INC: $105k → 8%DENVER ZOOLOGICAL FOUNDATION: $54k → 12%CROW CANYON ARCHAEOLOGICAL CENTER: $72k → 15%PURDUE UNIVERSITY: $52k → 12%SOLASTER SCIENCE LLC: $56k → 8%EASTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY: $72k → 16%SCHOODIC INST AT ACADIA NATIONAL PARK: $115k → 11%SWAN VALLEY CONNECTIONS: $46k → 9%WILDLIFE CONSERVATION SOCIETY: $45k → 28%HAWKWATCH INTERNATIONAL INC: $101k → 8%CROW CANYON ARCHAEOLOGICAL CTR: $71k → 15%PURDUE UNIVERSITY: $50k → 12%SOLASTER SCIENCE LLC: $49k → 8%EASTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY: $59k → 16%SCHOODIC INST AT ACADIA NATIONAL PARK: $114k → 11%THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA: $97k → 11%HAWKWATCH INTERNATIONAL INC: $93k → 8%PURDUE UNIVERSITY: $47k → 12%EASTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY: $52k → 16%SCHOODIC INST AT ACADIA NATIONAL PARK: $99k → 11%REGENTS OF THE UNIV OF CA: $54k → 11%HAWKWATCH INTERNATIONAL: $81k → 8%EASTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY: $45k → 16%SCHOODIC INST AT ACADIA NATIONAL PARK: $98k → 11%HAWKWATCH INTERNATIONAL INC: $77k → 8%SCHOODIC INST AT ACADIA NATIONAL PARK: $97k → 11%SCHOODIC INST AT ACADIA NATIONAL PARK: $92k → 11%SCHOODIC INST AT ACADIA NATIONAL PARK: $51k → 11%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount
How this is measured
Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty line in the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP.

Which US states its grants reach

AK
ME
WA
MT
IL
NY
MA
OR
NV
IA
IN
CT
RI
CA
UT
CO
KY
AZ
DC
TX
FL

Grants abroad, by region: $546k on the FY2025 return

Schedule F, as filed: 5 regions, $349k to organizations and $197k to individuals. The IRS asks for region and purpose, not the recipient, so no country or grantee can be named here.

Europe (including Iceland and Greenland)$257k · 47% · 1 grant · 5 people

Stated purpose: EXPEDITIONS · PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR, EXPEDITIONS

South America$236k · 43% · 1 grant · 2 people

Stated purpose: EXPEDITIONS · PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR, EXPEDITIONS

Central America and the Caribbean$23k · 4% · 1 person

Stated purpose: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR, EXPEDITIONS

Sub-Saharan Africa$15k · 3% · 1 grant

Stated purpose: EXPEDITIONS

North America (Canada and Mexico)$13k · 2% · 1 grant

Stated purpose: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

How this is measured
US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are delivered. Need from public data (U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA), shown as context about the area, never attributed to the funder’s giving. Grants abroad on Schedule F are filed by region, purpose and amount with no recipient name, so they are shown by region and cannot be placed on the country map or matched to a grantee.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

95%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$5.4M · 26 repeat orgs$282k to everyone else

26 repeat relationships: 9 still active in FY2025, 17 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

26
8

Total granted

$5.4M
$257k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+57%
+63%

Still filing today

50%
50%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 93% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $24k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
EnvironmentAnimalsArts & CultureEducationInternationalOther
How this is measured
First-time means a grantee’s first year in the filing window; renewed means funded in an earlier year too. The renewed share climbs naturally as a portfolio matures, so the signal is a year that bucks it (a wave of new grantees). The earliest year is left-censored: relationships that predate the data read as new. Theme is the grantee’s IRS cause.

Backed again, and grew

  • HI
    HAWKWATCH INTERNATIONAL INC
    8× · 2017–2025 · $670k · revenue +73%
  • MOTE MARINE LABORATORY INC
    4× · 2022–2025 · $337k · revenue +74%
  • WC
    Wildlife Conservation Society
    5× · 2018–2025 · $265k · revenue +44%

Funded once

  • RO
    REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT RIVERSIDE
    one grant, 2017 · $97k
  • WU
    WESTERN UNIVERSITY OF HEALTH SCIENCES
    one grant, 2023 · $50k · revenue +13%
  • PC
    PACIFIC CREST TRAIL ASSOCIATIONgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $33k · revenue +63%
How this is measured

Repeat means funded in two or more distinct years. Growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Its field

Closest unfunded matches

The nonprofits that most resemble its grantees but are not funded by it, scored along the direction from the rest of the field toward the portfolio. A resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
American Museum of Natural History

The museum's mission statement is: "to discover, interpret, and disseminate - through scientific research and education - knowledge about human cultures, the natural world, and the universe."

Arts & Culture
2
World Wildlife Fund Inc

Wwf's mission is to conserve nature and reduce the most pressing threats to the diversity of life on earth. (continued on schedule o)

Environment
3
Science Museum of Minnesota

The museum's mission statement is "turn on the science: inspire learning. inform policy. improve lives."

Arts & Culture
4
The Coral Reef and Marine Science Foundation Inc C/O James Bildner
—
5
Lowell Observatory

The mission of lowell observatory is to pursue the study of astronomy, especially the study of our solar system and its evolution; to conduct pure research in astronomical phenomena; and to maintain quality public education and outreach…

Science & Tech
6
Nature Collective

Nature collective's mission is to drive a passion for nature for all. we think inclusively and diversely when serving those devoid of nature those who remember nature and want to connect back to it and those who have an affinity with…

Environment
7
Texas State Aquarium Association

The texas state aquarium's mission is engaging people with animals, inspiring appreciation for our seas, and supporting wildlife conservation. its vision is to be a global leader in fostering support for the conservation of the gulf of…

Animals
8
Property and Environment Research Center

Perc is dedicated to advancing conservation through markets, incentives, property rights, and partnerships.

Public Benefit
9
Earth & Space Research

Increase societal understanding of the earth system through scientific research and education.

Science & Tech
10
The Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia

The mission is "to understand the natural world and inspire everyone to care for it." the academy implements its mission through understanding the diversity of life; developing and applying science to protect the environment; and informing…

Science & Tech
11
Conservation International Foundation

Ci works to spotlight and secure the critical benefits that nature provides to humanity.

Environment
12
Manomet Inc

Manomet uses science and collaboration to improve the health of flyways, coastal ecosystems, and working lands and seas.

Environment
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Yale University; the most unlike its peers is Wildlife Conservation Society. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
04the grantee network

21 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

Each grant beside the grantee’s revenue from every source, year by year.

How this is measured

Counted here: distinct organizations funded across 2017 to 2025, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 21 of the 38 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile.

Each grantee is resolved to its own IRS returns. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
7
Early backer (in before they grew)
21/21
Grantees still filing
17/21
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

EASTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY: $408,226 · OtherEASTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITYMOTE MARINE LABORATORY INC: $337,179 · OtherMOTE MARINE LABORATORY INCTRUSTEES OF PURDUE UNIVERSITY: $325,147 · OtherTRUSTEES OF PURDUE UNIVERSITYSOUTH YUBA RIVER CITIZENS LEAGUE: $230,999 · OtherSOUTH YUBA RIVER CITIZENS LEAGUEFLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY: $204,673 · OtherFLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITYSAM HOUSTON STATE UNIVERSITY: $189,718 · OtherSAM HOUSTON STATE UNIVERSITYSOLASTER SCIENCE LLC: $167,393 · OtherSOLASTER SCIENCE LLCNORTHERN ARIZONA UNIVERSITY: $146,369 · OtherNORTHERN ARIZONA UNIVERSITYSOUTHERN UTAH UNIVERSITY 01-65: $132,571 · OtherREGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT RIVERSIDE: $97,476 · Other+13 more: $480,032 · Other+13 moreHAWKWATCH INTERNATIONAL INC: $669,891 · AnimalsHAWKWATCH INTERNATION…Wildlife Conservation Society: $264,880 · AnimalsWildlife Conservation…DENVER ZOOLOGICAL FOUNDATION: $187,927 · AnimalsDENVER ZOOLOGICAL FOU…SCHOODIC INSTITUTE AT ACADIA NATIONAL PARK: $814,754 · EnvironmentSCHOODIC INSTITUTE A…SWAN VALLEY CONNECTIONS: $137,951 · EnvironmentSWAN VALLEY CONNECTI…LIVING DESERT THE: $119,200 · EnvironmentLIVING DESERT THE+1 more: $24,420 · EnvironmentUNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: $191,710 · EducationUNIVERSIT…The Research Foundation for The State University of New York: $148,141 · EducationThe Resea…Yale University: $98,000 · EducationYale Univ…Trustees of Saint Joseph's College Saint Joseph's College of Maine: $69,797 · EducationTrustees …+1 more: $15,976 · EducationCAPE ELEUTHERA FOUNDATION INC: $251,492 · InternationalCROW CANYON ARCHAEOLOGICAL CENTER: $214,357 · Arts & CultureSMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION: $15,112 · Arts & Culture
Other$2,719,783Animals$1,122,698Environment$1,096,325Education$523,624International$251,492Arts & Culture$229,469

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetSCHOODIC INSTITUTE AT ACADIA NATIONAL PARK: $814,754 over 9y, 5.4% of budgetHAWKWATCH INTERNATIONAL INC: $669,891 over 8y, 9.3% of budgetMOTE MARINE LABORATORY INC: $337,179 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetWildlife Conservation Society: $264,880 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetCAPE ELEUTHERA FOUNDATION INC: $251,492 over 2y, 3.4% of budgetSOUTH YUBA RIVER CITIZENS LEAGUE: $230,999 over 7y, 2.3% of budgetCROW CANYON ARCHAEOLOGICAL CENTER: $214,357 over 3y, 2.0% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: $191,710 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetDENVER ZOOLOGICAL FOUNDATION: $187,927 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetThe Research Foundation for The State University of New York: $148,141 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetSWAN VALLEY CONNECTIONS: $137,951 over 3y, 6.3% of budgetLIVING DESERT THE: $119,200 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetYale University: $98,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTrustees of Saint Joseph's College Saint Joseph's College of Maine: $69,797 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetWESTERN UNIVERSITY OF HEALTH SCIENCES: $50,200 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPACIFIC CREST TRAIL ASSOCIATION: $33,180 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetALLIANCE FOR THE GREAT LAKES: $24,752 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetTHE TRUSTEES OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK: $15,976 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION: $15,112 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetWestern Kentucky University Research Foundation Inc: $5,656 over 1y, 0.0% of budget
Grantee by grantee: a decade per organization, before and after funding

A decade per grantee: revenue shaded, grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

  • Who funds SCHOODIC INSTITUTE AT ACADIA NATIONAL PARK ↗
  • Who funds HAWKWATCH INTERNATIONAL INC ↗
  • Who funds MOTE MARINE LABORATORY INC ↗
  • Who funds Wildlife Conservation Society ↗
  • Who funds CAPE ELEUTHERA FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds SOUTH YUBA RIVER CITIZENS LEAGUE ↗
  • Who funds CROW CANYON ARCHAEOLOGICAL CENTER ↗
  • Who funds UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ↗
  • Who funds DENVER ZOOLOGICAL FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds The Research Foundation for The State University of New York ↗
  • Who funds SWAN VALLEY CONNECTIONS ↗
  • Who funds LIVING DESERT THE ↗
  • Who funds Yale University ↗
  • Who funds Trustees of Saint Joseph's College Saint Joseph's College of Maine ↗
  • Who funds WESTERN UNIVERSITY OF HEALTH SCIENCES ↗
  • Who funds PACIFIC CREST TRAIL ASSOCIATION ↗
  • Who funds ALLIANCE FOR THE GREAT LAKES ↗
  • Who funds FRIENDS OF THE OSA ↗
  • Who funds THE TRUSTEES OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK ↗
  • Who funds SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION ↗
  • Who funds Western Kentucky University Research Foundation Inc ↗

Co-funders

Grantmakers whose grantees overlap with this funder’s far more than size alone predicts. Closer means stronger alignment; arcs show where they also fund each other. Here they form a tightly interlocked group: most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

National Fish and Wil…National Collegiate A…Folds of Honor Founda…National Forest Found…Yale UniversityThe Nature ConservancyAmerican Heart Associ…Tulsa Community Found…American Endowment Fo…The Blackbaud Giving …Morgan Stanley Global…Vanguard Charitable E…
National Fish and Wildlife FoundationDC20.2× affinity8 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: National Fish and Wildlife Foundation · National Collegiate Athletic Association · Folds of Honor Foundation · National Forest Foundation · Yale University · The Nature Conservancy · American Heart Association Inc · Tulsa Community Foundation · American Endowment Foundation · The Blackbaud Giving Fund · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program

How this is measured
Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. Overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

How much its grantees rely on government

Each dot is one organization Earthwatch Institute Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Earthwatch Institute Inc. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%1%3%6%10%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 12%
  • Yale University: 12% of income from government
  • Mote Marine Laboratory Inc: 4% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get no government money at all
2report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
typical government reliance, FY20–25
How this is measured
Government income is each org’s traced federal awards (USASpending grants and contracts) plus state payments (open checkbooks) as a share of its total revenue (IRS Form 990); the self-reported government-grant line (990 line 1e) is carried for cross-check: a grantee that reports government grants we could not trace to a source is left off the chart rather than shown as receiving none. An association, not a claim that a grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first, a floor rather than a census; state records exist for 9 states, so a grantee outside them shows no state figure (dimmed) rather than a false zero. Federal award amounts are obligations, which can span years, so a single-year share is indicative. 990 filings lag 12 to 24 months.

On method. Every financial figure here is read from IRS e-file XML, the funder’s own 990/990-PF, and from the multi-year returns of the 38 grantees we resolved, each linked to its source. Grantee outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III), read as association with funding, never as caused by it. Low-confidence name matches are suppressed rather than guessed. How we build these →

How this is measured
Each figure carries one of six labels. Filed is what the funder reported on its return. Official is another government record about an organization, such as a federal award or a charity register, joined by name where no shared identifier exists. Resolved is an identity we worked out where the filing named a recipient without an EIN, kept only above a measured confidence threshold. Computed is arithmetic over those, like themes, portfolio clusters and co-funder strength. Context is a statistic about a place rather than about an organization, which is what the need overlay is: it describes the area a grantee’s address sits in, not where its work lands. Inferred is drawn by a model from text, like the partnerships read out of public news and organization websites. Each is labeled where it appears.

Generated from the IRS Form 990 e-file return for fiscal year 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Earthwatch Institute’s filings →

More from the funding graph

The unnamed billions
grants reported with no recipient in the public record
The regranting layer
51% of grant dollars land in the regranting layer
The DAF merry-go-round
$9.7B circulates between donor-advised funds
The endowment market
who holds foundation money, and what just moved
The camps
funders cluster by geography, not ideology
By state
where grant money is based, and what stays home